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Re: How not to win friends and influence people - Traffic World SHORE,J 22 Sep 2004 20:12 UTC

I disagree with this falling under the "unordered
merchandise" laws. For sake of arguement, let's say the
Subscription Agent did submit a number of renewals for
libraries but they didn't pay for them and declared
bankruptcy. In that case, the Publisher has a valid order
for the merchandise, but they weren't paid for it. The
issues the Library receives are "extended credit".

Now, the Library asks for another year's worth of issues,
I can easily understand the Publisher saying, "OK, but you
owe us 9 issues you didn't pay for, so the total sum you
get will be 9 issues less."

I do agree that it is tacky, but I don't think it is
illegal.

J.

J. Shore
MEDLINE Quality Assurance
National Library of Medicine
Bethesda, MD, USA

shorej@cablespeed.com

On Wed, 22 Sep 2004 15:21:18 -0400
  "DuBose, Stefanie" <DUBOSES@MAIL.ECU.EDU> wrote:
>Hey Jeanette,
>
>To me, if the title was not ordered, regardless of how
>the publisher describes it, the charge should not be
>paid.  So yes, I'd think that it would fall in the same
>realm of those other headache-inducing 'standing orders.'
>
>Stefanie
>
>Stefanie DuBose
>Head, Acquisitions
>Academic Library Services
>East Carolina University
>Greenville, NC 27258-4353
>(p)252-328-2598
>(f)252-328-4834
>duboses@mail.ecu.edu
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
>[mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU]On Behalf Of Skwor,
>Jeanette
>Sent: Wednesday, September 22, 2004 2:56 PM
>To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
>Subject: Re: [SERIALST] How not to win friends and
>influence people -
>Traffic World
>
>
>***An update -  I called Deborah Blok, the Customer Care
>Supervisor at
>Commonwealth Business Media, on this; she is the person I
>quoted below
>stating that the 2003 graced issues were subtracted from
>our 2004
>subscription.  She was quite adamant, but later consulted
>with the
>Director of Circulation.  The upshot is they will not
>correct the
>subscription dates; this is "Standard Policy in the
>publishing industry"
>and they are standing firm.  "All they can do" is see to
>it that issues
>are not graced at the end of our current subscription
>period, which also
>means we will not receive any renewal notice.  (I'm not
>sure how that
>follows, but it's what I was told.)
>
>***I find it interesting that they, as well as I, use the
>term "graced
>issues".  Apparently Commonwealth Business Media uses a
>different
>dictionary than we have here at the library, to define
>"grace".
>
>***Has anyone dealt with this before?  I have to admit in
>eleven years
>on the job, it's a first for me.   Don't "graced issues"
>fall under the
>law regarding unordered merchandise?
>
>Jeanette L. Skwor
>Cofrin Library
>University of WI-Green Bay
>(920) 465-2670
>
>"Libraries will get you through times of no money better
>than money will
>get you through times of no libraries."
>                              Anne Herbert, The Whole
>Earth Catalog
>
>
>
>
>> _____________________________________________
>> From:         Skwor, Jeanette
>> Sent: Wednesday, September 22, 2004 8:10 AM
>> To:   Serialst
>> Subject:      How not to win friends and influence
>>people - Traffic
>> World
>>
>> Or, at least, not influence them to any respect towards
>>you -
>>
>> Traffic World was one of our subscriptions affected by
>>the divine,
>> Inc. bankruptcy.  They did not sign the PPA and made no
>>promise to
>> grace the issues.  However, though our paid subscription
>>expired with
>> the Sept. 3, 2003 issue, they did send 9 more issues
>>before they
>> stopped.
>>
>> We could not afford to pay twice for the majority of our
>> subscriptions, and so a certain number of them that were
>>not graced
>> just had to be allowed to lapse.  Traffic World was one
>>of those
>> titles.
>>
>> Now we're well into 2004, a new vendor, and new
>>subscriptions.  We
>> requested renewal of  Traffic World to begin with Sept
>>2004 and run
>> through August 2005, and we did get, for our first
>>issue, the Aug. 30,
>> 2004 issue.  However, the expiration date shown on the
>>label is June
>> 13, 2005.
>>
>> I contacted our vendor.
>>
>> I just received the response - Traffic World informed
>>them that they
>> had graced us 9 issues on our previous subscription and
>>have
>> *subtracted* those graced issues from the current
>>subscription, to wit
>> - "The subscriber is due 51 issues, this number includes
>>the nine
>> issues that were graced in 2003."
>>
>> My take on it:  "Let's see - we'll grace these people
>>just in case
>> they are planning to renew but their renewal is delayed,
>>and if they
>> are dropping us forever we'll take the loss.  However,
>>if they do
>> renew eventually, we'll stick them for those freebies.
>> That'll teach
>> 'em."
>>
>> Yup, I'm taught.   And of course I will contact them and
>>protest.  But
>> I also thought this is one of those new and unique
>>marketing ideas
>> that needs to be shared with other serialsters.
>>
>> Jeanette L. Skwor
>> Cofrin Library
>> University of WI-Green Bay
>> (920) 465-2670
>>
>> "Libraries will get you through times of no money better
>>than money
>> will get you through times of no libraries."
>>                               Anne Herbert, The Whole
>>Earth Catalog
>>
>>
>>